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Writers Guild Honors `Sling Blade,' `fargo'

March 18, 1997|By Tribune News Services.

LOS ANGELES — Top honors at the Writers Guild of America Awards ceremony went to two movies that draw heavily on the regional backgrounds of their writers. Billy Bob Thornton's "Sling Blade" won for best screenplay based on material previously published or produced. It was set in Thornton's native Arkansas and based on his own play. Joel and Ethan Coen were honored for best original screenplay for "Fargo," much of which is set in their home state of Minnesota.